How do you top a game that ends with you killing the King of the Gods?

That’s the query that faced Santa Monica Studios as it built the next console adventure of Spartan warrior Kratos, a longtime PlayStation standard bearer whose labors reached their gruesome end in 2010’s God of War III.

That game, the fifth in the franchise, chronicled Kratos’ final assault against Mount Olympus. Set in a fictionalized Ancient Greece populated by all the gods and monsters you can imagine (and some you wouldn’t want to), Kratos’ story is an engine of vengeance that runs on blood. God of War III, the last PlayStation 3 release, saw the surly anti-hero tear through Hercules, Poseidon, Hades and eventually Zeus like a bunch of deli meat.

Now, in God of War: Ascension, we go back to the beginning to fill in Kratos’ backstory.Ascension, the seventh game in the series, is a prequel to the entire blood-soaked story.

Where else could you go? After all, by the end of his last game, Kratos really didn’t have anyone left to kill.

From the beginning, the stakes feel lower in Ascension than in God of War III. This is not the final act of an epic journey — it’s closer to an origin story. In fact, it’s closer in tone and scope to an actual Greek myth, as a tortured hero takes on an epic quest in search of big words, like vengeance and truth.

As a character, Kratos is nearly mute. When he speaks, in the rumbling voice of Terrence C. Carson, he sneers each syllable. Don’t expect him to grow much as a character in the hours you spend deliriously swinging the Blades of Chaos. The most catharsis our hero ever experiences is by stabbing someone and moving on.

This game dips into rich Greek mythology for villains you can dismember. This time around it’s the three Furies who torment him and inevitably earn a spot at the end of his blades. Cruel beings who rank among some of the oldest in the myths, it seems fitting that they find themselves in a prequel. They aren’t the most imposing enemies in the history of the franchise, but you’ll see other familiar faces and locales, like the Oracle at Delphi.

Unfortunately, some of the giddy joy of earlier games is absent here. Real mythology fans might have a blast, but it’s a less accessible game overall.

Gameplay

Built on Santa Monica’s God of War III engine, the gameplay feels similar and comfortable. The series has never relied too much on finesse. Kratos’ story, true to form, is a classic hack-and-slash adventure.

As wave after wave of creatures large and small descend on Kratos, his best weapons are his chain-blades. In God of War: Ascension they can be imbued with the power of the gods — fire of Ares, lightning of Zeus and more — but combat doesn’t stray too far or too often from that standard. And it doesn’t need to.

Gameplay is about honing your combos, moving quickly, striking from a safe distance and doing as much damage as possible. Whether you’re facing a swarm of vicious insects or a small platoon of elephantine footsoldiers, just keep those blades swinging. Cyclopes, dragons, chimerae, wraiths, gorgons — increasingly larger groups await you in every room, enough to make you wonder, “Will my life bar survive this round?”

And, yes, Kratos still touts the classic, simple, green life bar, and he can only take so much damage. There are no slowly graying screens or rechargeable shields in his quest — instead, it’s a constant rationing of health, and the hope that life-saving green orbs lie around the next corner.

You’ll also see shades of the last game’s flying mechanics in Kratos’ liberal use of the power slide to get over unsteady terrain.

Occasionally, the hectic slash-and-dodge combat transitions into Quicktime events, just as in the previous release. With well-timed button strikes, you can find the most creative and cinematic way to disembowel something, and that’s what it’s all about, really.

Ascension adds a level of interactivity its predecessor lacked, as each event becomes a minigame of slicing and dodging before Kratos can deliver a killstroke. It’s an always-satisfying improvement over God of War III.

New Tricks

As always, the second big challenge in God of War: Ascension comes in the form of puzzles. Frequently, Kratos must do some careful spatial problem-solving in order to advance. Puzzles are often deviously difficult — a welcome change of pace from the usual slice-and-dice, but no less frustrating than a resilient enemy.

It’s here that Kratos’ other tools come into play. Beyond his weapons, the Ghost of Sparta carries an amulet with the power to revitalize or decay inanimate objects and living things alike. This function is used to fix old walkways or machinery, or to freeze crumbling architecture to make it traversable. This and a few other new tools add a deeper level of variability to puzzles and force players to approach a problem from different angles.

It also gives Kratos the chance to do something rare: build. We are so used to seeing him take things (and people, and gods) apart. He’s a true iconoclast in that way. But in Ascension we help him resurrect ancient glories, even if it’s only to further his own ends.

The fact that Santa Monica outdid itself so clearly in its last PlayStation 3 outing meansAscension has to go hard at all times. This game does nothing quietly or simply. Do you need to raise a bridge? Well, it’s going to take a strenuous boss fight, some challenging puzzle work, quick thinking and a grandiose cutscene before you can cross it.

Likewise, the scale and aesthetics of Ascension’s environments are front and center. The worlds through which Kratos travels on his quest seem to exist, at times, for the sake of their beauty, which can be breathtaking. But as you’re riding a thousand-foot metal snake through the mountainous ruins of an ancient temple, try not to stop and ask yourself why. Just enjoy the ride and the view.

The camera frequently pulls back for dramatic effect to show the sheer scope and scale of the mythic locales, dwarfing even the hulking beasts you face. And while it can be frustrating when you’re in the midst of a fight for your life and can’t tell which pixel you are, it’s never anything short of awesome.

With all the grandeur and glory that defines this game, it’s important to remark on the intense and graphic violence that fills the gaps. As even the casual God of War player will know, Kratos’ journey takes him down a road paved in torn flesh, sinew and entrails. After just a few minutes in the game, expect to rip heads off and tear enemies in half amidst a steady spray of blood and gore.

The amount of nudity, especially female nudity, is also striking when juxtaposed with ultra-violence. Needless to say, you shouldn’t look for gender sensitivity in a God of War game. A bit in which the player batters a female villain solely with fists and feet from a first-person perspective left me uncomfortable, if only briefly, before generic mayhem resumed. At least Kratos is an equal-opportunity killer; he cuts into all his enemies regardless of sex or species.

God of War: Ascension is addictive — the kind of repetitive-action gameplay that fans can sink into easily. After finishing the game, you’ll immediately want to run through again with improved skills and a few new tools. You could also check out the multiplayer mode — Ascension is the first installment in the franchise to feature cooperative or competitive play online.

Does this game beat God of War III? No — very little could top the fun and brutal payoff of that adventure. But Ascension will quench your thirst for vengeance, if only for a little while. It’s available now for PlayStation 3.